We knew that, when late January rolled around, there would be a team in Oklahoma City perched around the top of the Western Conference standings. And most would have guessed that there would be a team in Los Angeles in a similar position. But—surprise, surprise—the elite team in L.A. has turned out to be the Clippers, and on Tuesday night on NBA TV, they will square off for Western supremacy against the Thunder at the Staples Center.

It is a meeting worthy of its hype, with (at least) four All-Stars on board, including point guards Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook, plus OKC small forward Kevin Durant and Clippers power forward Blake Griffin. L.A. is at the halfway point on its schedule, and it is time to take this team serious when NBA Finals talk arises. The Clippers have great front-line talent, but they also have enviable depth that has allowed them to withstand the same sort of rash of injuries that hurt them last year.

“You have to think they’re a legitimate contender, it’s not too early to say that,” NBA TV analyst Greg Anthony said Monday morning. “The next question is to figure out whether they can actually win. That’s another thing in and of itself. The Clippers have handled themselves very well. They have dealt with as much injury as anyone in the league, and yet they still find themselves (tied for) the best record in the league. You have to accept that they are one of those teams—and you have to remember they had a pretty good year last year. They beat Memphis in a seventh game (in the first round of the playoffs) on the road. That it pretty impressive. They are going to have confidence, and now they are going to have experience. They are definitely a contender.”

At the midway point, the Clippers ranked fourth in the league in offensive efficiency and third in the league in defensive efficiency. No team in the East ranks in the top 10 in both categories, and only two in the West can make that claim—the Thunder (first offensively, seventh defensively) and the Spurs (fifth offensively and fifth defensively). The Clippers have beaten San Antonio twice this season, with both games coming in November. The only game between the Clippers and Thunder, also in late November, was won in overtime by OKC, but coach Scott Brooks said after that game, “It was like a playoff game in November. Everybody laid it all on the line.”

Now comes the rematch. This is probably a more important prove-it game for the Clippers, and it is one that would be especially handy to win. The Clippers play two of their next three games on the road, then go on a monster eight-game road trip that begins next week.

Still, it is entirely possible that we will see these two teams play again during the postseason in May, and the Thunder are well aware of that. On Tuesday night, matchups and weaknesses that could be important in the playoffs will show themselves.

“The marquee is obviously Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook and how they are able to play against each other,” Anthony said. “But I am also looking at how the Clippers contend and deal with Durant. And I want to see how the benches perform, because those are important elements for both teams. I want to see, too, if you’re going to see a little more of a playoff rotation in this game. And on the Clippers side, I want to see how many rim-runs they can get, how many alley-oops—can the Thunder take that away, can Blake Griffin be effective in that low block, things of that nature.”

The Clippers are at the top of the standings. Now, against the defending West champs, they can prove they belong there.